6 ms·

The MSG allergy is a myth, plain and simple. There have been plenty of scientific research studies done on the substance, and they found absolutely nothing. I d

The MSG allergy is a myth, plain and simple. There have been plenty of scientific research studies done on the substance, and they found absolutely nothing. I don't know why this myth has persisted so long in popular culture. I compare it to people who rave about homeopathy. Any (perceived) effect is either anecdotal or placebo in nature. What most people don't know, is that MSG occurs naturally in many foods. Beef, Chicken, Spinach, Tomatoes, etc... If you don't get an MSG allergy when you eat those foods, you don't have an MSG allergy. Source: http://zidbits.com/2010/12/is-the-msg-allergy-a-myth/ http://zidbits.com/2010/12/is-the-msg-allergy-a-myth/

commandar 13y ago
It's a lot like the stigma against aspartame. It found its way into popular culture and has become firmly entrenched despite all evidence from decades of intense scientific scrutiny to the contrary. My gut feeling is that we're going to be in a similar place in 10-20 years with HFCS. The body of research there is still relatively young, however.
Aloisius 13y ago
Uh. I actually have an MSG sensitivity which took me forever to figure out what it was. For decades I'd occasionally be eating in a restaurant and my lips, tongue and/or back of my throat would go numb. It wasn't until I bought MSG and started putting it on pretty much everything in larger doses that I realized it was the culprit. I can reproduce it pretty easily by simply putting nothing but MSG on my tongue. It takes a good bit to do it however and seems to cause me no other problems so I tend not to worry about it, but it is clearly some kind of sensitivity or allergy which is easily reproducible and not the slightest bit vague (lips going numb is a pretty easily identifiable sensation). Claiming it is all completely made up seems a bit premature.
- ricardobeat 13y ago
  It is said that the human body itself produces up to 50g of glutamate every day; an allergy to it should result in much more terrible effects than superficial numbness. Someone already posted a longer explanation: http://www.metafilter.com/131105/Dorito-Powder#5147903 http://www.metafilter.com/131105/Dorito-Powder#5147903
  - Aloisius 13y ago
    It could also be the large amount of sodium that gets released when it touches my tongue as well, but the effect is undeniable.
  - ars 13y ago
    > produces up to 50g of glutamate every day But not as free glutamic acid, and that makes a HUGE difference.
    - brianleb 13y ago
      Really? Please observe the differences between https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L-Glutamate_Structural_Formulae.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L-Glutamate_Structural_Fo... and https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Glutamins%C3%A4ure_-_Glutamic_acid.svg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Glutamin... . The only difference is the relocation of hydrogen ions, which is a normal and expected occurrence of all molecules in the presence of other molecules. The equilibrium of these different forms of the same molecule is mediated by pH, among other things. They are in fact the same molecule. The word "acid" only means that it likes to give up a hydrogen ion when given the opportunity.
      - ars 13y ago
        You understood me in reverse. In the body the glutamate (acid or not) is bound up with other things, i.e. not free. I said acid because my understanding was the MSG disassociates from the sodium once ingested.
        tptacek 13y ago
        I read some glutamate metabolism papers last night and I don't think this is likely to be true at all. I think it's a manifestation of the naturalist fallacy: you believe the "free glutamic acid" released by the dissolution of MSG to be artificial and are trying to rationalize a distinction for the glutamates that the body produces that doesn't exist. In reality, glutamic acid isn't simply an amino acid that happens to be present in the human body. It is fundamental to the way our bodies work; it's required for nitrogen metabolism! Glutamate toxicity seems very unlikely.
baby 13y ago
I think people are talking about sensitivity, are you saying that everybody should be able to ingest dishes made with MSG and not feel bad because of the MSG?
hristov 13y ago
MSG is not in beef chicken spinach or tomatoes. There is a difference between the glutamic acid that is in these foods and the salt that is msg. Furthermore, MSG is manufactured using chemical processes which means that there are plenty of trace elements from the manufacturing processes in the end product. It is very much possible to be allergic to MSG. Even the present article, despite being very much pro-MSG, allows that some people may be sensitive to it.
- tptacek 13y ago
  MSG isn't manufactured using "chemical processes"; Ajinomoto manufactures it through bacterial fermentation.
Pitarou 13y ago
Here's what I know: 1. I occasionally get symptoms often associated with MSG. Terrible headache, confusion, nasal drip, nausea, and so on. It can put me out of action for about 12 hours. 2. I invariably get these symptoms about 24 hours after I've eaten processed foods with an unusually rich flavour and which have, somewhere in their ingredients, either MSG or something that might conceal MSG (e.g. "flavourings"). I can't guarantee that it's MSG, because I'm too chicken to test it directly (that headache really sucks), but it certainly fits the profile. Now some people point out, "It occurs naturally in all kinds of foods. The original MSG was derived from miso soup, which you eat every day." And my answer is, "I don't know. Maybe it's a subtle variant of MSG that only occurs in the synthetic variety? Maybe the naturally occurring MSG is bound up with other things that render it safe for me to eat? But something's making me ill, and it's only in synthetic ingredients."
- tptacek 13y ago
  The "synthetic" MSG you're referring to isn't synthesized, it's cultured by bacteria in sugar. There is a chemical process to create MSG, but it is significantly more expensive; the shift to fermentation happened in the '70s, so you may never have had chemically synthesized MSG.
  - Pitarou 13y ago
    Thanks for pointing that out. So "synthetic" is the wrong word. Maybe "industrially produced"? Anyway, if it's made by bacteria, that suggests that it's enantiopure, so there goes one of my hypotheses about the cause of the problem. The ones I'm left with are: - it's something else entirely that's making me ill - the naturally-occurring MSG is bound up with other substances in some way that makes it safe for me to consume I guess there's nothing for it other than for me to pick a weekend when I'm not busy, swallow a teaspoon of the stuff, and see what happens.
    - tptacek 13y ago
      Try eating some Roquefort cheese; it's almost nothing but salt, fat, water, and protein, half of which is glutamic acid.

commandar 13y ago

It's a lot like the stigma against aspartame. It found its way into popular culture and has become firmly entrenched despite all evidence from decades of intense scientific scrutiny to the contrary. My gut feeling is that we're going to be in a similar place in 10-20 years with HFCS. The body of research there is still relatively young, however.

Aloisius 13y ago

Uh. I actually have an MSG sensitivity which took me forever to figure out what it was. For decades I'd occasionally be eating in a restaurant and my lips, tongue and/or back of my throat would go numb. It wasn't until I bought MSG and started putting it on pretty much everything in larger doses that I realized it was the culprit. I can reproduce it pretty easily by simply putting nothing but MSG on my tongue. It takes a good bit to do it however and seems to cause me no other problems so I tend not to worry about it, but it is clearly some kind of sensitivity or allergy which is easily reproducible and not the slightest bit vague (lips going numb is a pretty easily identifiable sensation). Claiming it is all completely made up seems a bit premature.

ricardobeat 13y ago
It is said that the human body itself produces up to 50g of glutamate every day; an allergy to it should result in much more terrible effects than superficial numbness. Someone already posted a longer explanation: http://www.metafilter.com/131105/Dorito-Powder#5147903 http://www.metafilter.com/131105/Dorito-Powder#5147903
- Aloisius 13y ago
  It could also be the large amount of sodium that gets released when it touches my tongue as well, but the effect is undeniable.
- ars 13y ago
  > produces up to 50g of glutamate every day But not as free glutamic acid, and that makes a HUGE difference.
  - brianleb 13y ago
    Really? Please observe the differences between https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L-Glutamate_Structural_Formulae.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L-Glutamate_Structural_Fo... and https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Glutamins%C3%A4ure_-_Glutamic_acid.svg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Glutamin... . The only difference is the relocation of hydrogen ions, which is a normal and expected occurrence of all molecules in the presence of other molecules. The equilibrium of these different forms of the same molecule is mediated by pH, among other things. They are in fact the same molecule. The word "acid" only means that it likes to give up a hydrogen ion when given the opportunity.
    - ars 13y ago
      You understood me in reverse. In the body the glutamate (acid or not) is bound up with other things, i.e. not free. I said acid because my understanding was the MSG disassociates from the sodium once ingested.
      - tptacek 13y ago
        I read some glutamate metabolism papers last night and I don't think this is likely to be true at all. I think it's a manifestation of the naturalist fallacy: you believe the "free glutamic acid" released by the dissolution of MSG to be artificial and are trying to rationalize a distinction for the glutamates that the body produces that doesn't exist. In reality, glutamic acid isn't simply an amino acid that happens to be present in the human body. It is fundamental to the way our bodies work; it's required for nitrogen metabolism! Glutamate toxicity seems very unlikely.

baby 13y ago

I think people are talking about sensitivity, are you saying that everybody should be able to ingest dishes made with MSG and not feel bad because of the MSG?

hristov 13y ago

MSG is not in beef chicken spinach or tomatoes. There is a difference between the glutamic acid that is in these foods and the salt that is msg. Furthermore, MSG is manufactured using chemical processes which means that there are plenty of trace elements from the manufacturing processes in the end product. It is very much possible to be allergic to MSG. Even the present article, despite being very much pro-MSG, allows that some people may be sensitive to it.

tptacek 13y ago
MSG isn't manufactured using "chemical processes"; Ajinomoto manufactures it through bacterial fermentation.

Pitarou 13y ago

Here's what I know: 1. I occasionally get symptoms often associated with MSG. Terrible headache, confusion, nasal drip, nausea, and so on. It can put me out of action for about 12 hours. 2. I invariably get these symptoms about 24 hours after I've eaten processed foods with an unusually rich flavour and which have, somewhere in their ingredients, either MSG or something that might conceal MSG (e.g. "flavourings"). I can't guarantee that it's MSG, because I'm too chicken to test it directly (that headache really sucks), but it certainly fits the profile. Now some people point out, "It occurs naturally in all kinds of foods. The original MSG was derived from miso soup, which you eat every day." And my answer is, "I don't know. Maybe it's a subtle variant of MSG that only occurs in the synthetic variety? Maybe the naturally occurring MSG is bound up with other things that render it safe for me to eat? But something's making me ill, and it's only in synthetic ingredients."

tptacek 13y ago
The "synthetic" MSG you're referring to isn't synthesized, it's cultured by bacteria in sugar. There is a chemical process to create MSG, but it is significantly more expensive; the shift to fermentation happened in the '70s, so you may never have had chemically synthesized MSG.
- Pitarou 13y ago
  Thanks for pointing that out. So "synthetic" is the wrong word. Maybe "industrially produced"? Anyway, if it's made by bacteria, that suggests that it's enantiopure, so there goes one of my hypotheses about the cause of the problem. The ones I'm left with are: - it's something else entirely that's making me ill - the naturally-occurring MSG is bound up with other substances in some way that makes it safe for me to consume I guess there's nothing for it other than for me to pick a weekend when I'm not busy, swallow a teaspoon of the stuff, and see what happens.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    Try eating some Roquefort cheese; it's almost nothing but salt, fat, water, and protein, half of which is glutamic acid.